Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Research Article

Caregivers’ Response to Pediatric Clinicians Sun Protection Anticipatory Guidance: Sun Protective Swim Shirts for 2-6 year old Children

¹Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL 60607, USA

²Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA

³Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA

*Corresponding Author:

June K. Robinson
MD, Research Professor of Dermatology
Department of Dermatology
Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine, 676 N St. Clair St
Suite 1260, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
Tel:312-926-7428
E-mail: june-robinson@northwestern.edu

Received date October 09, 2014; Accepted date November 14, 2014; Published date November 16, 2014

Citation: Bhave N, Reidy K, Randall Kinsella T, Brodsky AL, Robinson JK (2014) Caregivers’ Response to Pediatric Clinicians Sun Protection Anticipatory Guidance: Sun Protective Swim Shirts for 2-6 year old Children. J Community Med Health Educ 4:316. doi:10.4172/2161-0711.1000316

Copyright: © 2013 Jung YG. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Background: Sun exposure, particularly during childhood, is an important contributing factor in the risk of developing skin cancer later in life. Relying on sunscreen as the sole method of sun protection is problematic and may provide insufficient sun protection for the user due to failure to protect some areas of the body, and wearing off with physical activities like swimming. The response of caregivers of children aged 2-6 years old to anticipatory guidance by pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners regarding sun protection, especially using sun protective swim shirts (swim shirts), was evaluated. Study design: A convenience sample of caregivers completed a self-report questionnaire at three offices of a suburban pediatric practice from June to August 2014. Clinicians counseled caregivers on sun protection practices and provided caregivers an anticipatory guidance tip sheet with a voucher to obtain online a free swim shirt for their child. Voucher redemption and having a swim shirt were assessed. Results: Pediatric clinicians delivered the sun protection recommendations during well-child visits in less than 2 minutes. Caregivers completed 824 questionnaires across the three clinical sites. Caregivers were more likely to redeem a swim shirt for a male child between the ages of 2 and 6 years old (P=. 045). Female caregivers, who completed college or had a graduate degree, were more likely to obtain the swim shirt. (P=. 010) Additionally, caregivers were prompted by sunny weather to redeem a swim shirt for their child. Hispanic caregivers were less likely to redeem a voucher than others (P<.05) Conclusions: Swim shirt redemption by caregivers of children aged 2 to 6 years was related to sunny weather, and the gender of the child.

Keywords